Friday, February 12, 2010

His only known representative, Alioramus remotus was smaller than its giantrelatives as Tyrannosaurus rex and Tarbosaurus, although the only known specimenis a juvenile, the estimate of adult size is difficult.

Its name means Reptile another branch

Characteristic

* Time: (-144 M.A. at -65 M.A.)

*Size: 6 m long, 3.4 m high, 680 kg

*Habitat: Asia

*Diet: carnivorous

Etymology

This dinosaur was named and was described by Russian paleontologist SergeiKurzanov in 1976.

At the beginning of the restoration, the ridges and the low profile of the skullof this dinosaur have appeared so different from other tyrannosaurids he wasnamed dAlioramus of Latin aliases (alternate) and ramus (branch).

This refers to the belief Kurzanov quAlioramus belonged to a new branch ofevolution different from that of tyrannosaurids.

Similarly, the name of the species (A. remotus) also refers to itscharacteristic remotus in Latin means "removed".

As its name suggests, Alioramus was not far from being excluded fromtyrannosauroides.

However, several recent reviews have placed in the family Tyrannosauridae.

A cladistic analysis of 2004 square Alioramus, or just outside Tyrannosauridae,or inside, in the subfamily Tyrannosaurinae.

Other studies support the last hypothesis, putting Alioramus as taxon brotherTarbosaurus in Tyrannosaurinae.

Anatomy

Alioramus had a head longer and smaller and more numerous teeth than othertyrannosaurs.

It was small and slender and had six small horns on his long snout, one on eachside and four in the middle in one row.

Too small to defend themselves, these horns could have been of secondary sexualcharacteristics, identifying males and females

Inventory of fossil found

Alioramus is not well known, with only a partial skull and 3 metatarsal bonesavailable for study.

The skull is about 45 cm long and low profile, but not as much as skull restoredin the original description, with six distinctive bony ridges aligned in rowswhere the nasal bones are found on the top of the snout.

Many of nasal tyrannosaurids irregular, but no none peak as developed as that ofAlioramus although Appalachiosaurus recently described to overtake.

Alioramus is also characterized by a large number of teeth of upper and lowerjaws.

One specimen exhibits 16 teeth in the maxilla (the upper jaw bone) and 18 in thetooth (the bones of the lower jaw), more than any other known tyrannosaurids.